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Utah state legislative special elections, 2024
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In 2024, one special election was called to fill a vacant seat in the Utah State Legislature.
Click here to read more about the special elections.
Senate special elections called:
- District 12: November 5
How vacancies are filled in Utah
If there is a vacancy in the Utah State Legislature, the governor is responsible for selecting a replacement. A liaison for the political party that last held the seat must recommend a successor to the governor. A person who is selected to fill a vacant state House seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term. Interim appointees to state Senate seats serve until the next regular general election.[1]
If the vacancy happens after the nominating deadline in an election year, but before August 31, a new candidate must file a declaration of candidacy and certificate of nomination in order to be on the ballot. Nominating papers must be filed within 21 days after the vacancy occurs.[2]
See sources: Utah Const. Art. 6, Sec. 13 and Utah Code §20A-1-503
About the legislature
The Utah State Legislature is the state legislature of Utah. It is a bicameral body, comprising of the Utah House of Representatives, with 75 representatives, and the Utah State Senate, with 29 state senators.
The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2024. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).
Utah State Senate | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 6 | 6 | |
Republican Party | 23 | 23 | |
Total | 29 | 29 |
Utah House of Representatives | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 8, 2022 | After November 9, 2022 | |
Democratic Party | 17 | 14 | |
Republican Party | 58 | 61 | |
Total | 75 | 75 |
Special elections
Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:
November 5, 2024
Utah State Senate District 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A special election for District 12 of the Utah State Senate was called for November 5, 2024. The candidate filing deadline was January 8, 2024. The seat became vacant after Karen Mayne (D) resigned on January 16, 2023. A Democratic special election convention was held on January 16, 2023, to determine who would be appointed by Gov. Spencer Cox (R). Karen Kwan won the convention vote, and she assumed office on January 17, 2023.[3] General electionSpecial general election for Utah State Senate District 12Incumbent Karen Kwan defeated Judy Weeks-Rohner in the special general election for Utah State Senate District 12 on November 5, 2024.
Democratic primary electionThe Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Karen Kwan advanced from the special Democratic primary for Utah State Senate District 12. Republican primary electionThe Republican primary election was canceled. Judy Weeks-Rohner advanced from the special Republican primary for Utah State Senate District 12. Democratic conventionSpecial Democratic convention for Utah State Senate District 12Incumbent Karen Kwan advanced from the special Democratic convention for Utah State Senate District 12 on March 30, 2024.
Republican conventionSpecial Republican convention for Utah State Senate District 12Judy Weeks-Rohner advanced from the special Republican convention for Utah State Senate District 12 on April 13, 2024.
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Historical data
There were 955 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2023. Utah held one special election during the same time period.
The table below details how many state legislative special elections were held in a state in a given year.
Special elections throughout the country
In 2024, 52 state legislative special elections were scheduled for 2024 in 22 states. Between 2011 and 2023, an average of 71 special elections took place each year.
Breakdown of 2024 special elections
In 2024, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:
- 31 due to resignation
- 11 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
- 4 due to the death of the incumbent
- 6 due to redistricting
Impact of special elections on partisan composition
The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:
- 25 Democratic seats
- 27 Republican seats
The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2024. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections.
Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not the total number of vacant seats.
Partisan Change from Special Elections (2024) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of Special Election | After Special Election | |
Democratic Party | 26 | 29 | |
Republican Party | 26 | 23 | |
Independent | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 52 | 52 |
List of seats
In 2024, five seats changed party hands as a result of state legislative special elections.
Seats that changed from D to R
Seats that changed from R to D
- Florida House of Representatives District 35 (January 16)
- Alabama House of Representatives District 10 (March 26)
- North Dakota State Senate District 9 (November 5)
- North Dakota House of Representatives District 9 (November 5)
See also
- State legislative special elections, 2024
- State legislative special elections, 2023
- State legislative special elections, 2022
- State legislative special elections, 2021
- State legislative special elections, 2020
- Utah State Legislature
Footnotes
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State of Utah Salt Lake City (capital) |
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